Three piece hinge type drop-leaf support

ABSTRACT

A hinge type drop-leaf support includes a table hinge plate, a leaf hinge plate, and a slotted strut. Both the table hinge plate and the leaf hinge plate are hingedly coupled to each other and each are provided with respective depending legs. One end of the strut is hingedly coupled to table hinge plate leg and the other end of the strut is provided with an L-shaped slot. The leaf hinge plate leg is provided with a pin which engages the L-shaped slot. The L-shaped slot and the depending legs are dimensioned so that the use of a detent is obviated. If desired, a coil spring may be provided at the hinged coupling of the strut and the table hinge plate leg to bias the strut in a downward direction. The L-shaped slot has a long portion and a short portion which form an angle between them which is preferably acute. When the leaf is raised, the pin on the leaf hinge plate leg moves through the long portion of the slot to the short portion of the slot where it is capture and prevented from moving back through the long portion of the slot. Moving the strut toward the leaf allows the pin the re-enter the long portion of the slot thereby allowing the leaf to drop.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to drop leaf supports. More particularly, theinvention relates to a drop leaf support having an integral hinge.

2. State of the Art

Drop-leaf tables are well known in the art. These tables generallyinclude a central rectangular portion which is supported by three orfour legs and one or two leaf portions which are hingedly attached tothe central rectangular portion. The leaf portions may be rectangular orsemi-circular and are designed to assume two positions: a droppedposition where the leaf hangs by a hinge approximately ninety degreesdownward from the central portion, and a raised portion where the leafis supported in a substantially coplanar relationship with the centralportion. A collapsible supporting device is used to hold the leaf in theraised position.

Traditionally, the leaf supporting device and the leaf hinge wereseparate members. The leaf supporting device typically included acentrally hinged folding strut which was hingedly coupled to both theleaf and the central portion of the table. Raising the leaf caused thefolding strut to open at its central hinge and a assume a generallycollinear configuration. Various means, including springs, rods, andcams, were used to maintain the folding strut in its open supportingposition. The leaf was lowered to the dropped position by folding thestrut, often working against the spring, cam, or other device which wasutilized to hold the strut open.

My prior U.S. Pat. No. 2,902,326 discloses a much improved support for adrop-leaf table which included an integral hinge. This hinge typedrop-leaf support 10 is shown in prior art FIGS. 1 and 2 and generallyincludes five parts: two hinge plates 12, 14, a detent 20, a spring 22,and a slotted strut 26. The table hinge plate 12 is hingedly coupled tothe leaf hinge plate 14. Both the table hinge plate 12 and the leafhinge plate 14 are provided with respective depending legs 16, 18. Thedetent 20 is pivotally coupled to the leg 16 of the table hinge plate12. The coil spring 22 biases the detent so that its first end 24 abutsthe underside of the table hinge plate 12 when the leaf is raised asshown in prior art FIG. 2. The slotted strut 26 is hingedly coupled atone end 28 to the second end 30 of the detent 20. The slot 32 in thestrut 26 has a concave portion 33 near its second end 34 and a rivet 36in the leg 18 of the leaf hinge plate 14 engages the slot 32.

Prior art FIG. 1 shows the support 10 attached to a table 38 having aleaf 40 in the dropped position and prior art FIG. 2 shows the supportin the open supporting position where the leaf 40 is raised relative tothe table 38. From the foregoing description, it will be appreciatedthat when the leaf 40 is raised, the rivet 36 in the leg 18 of the leafhinge plate 14 moves freely through the slot 32 in the strut 26. Thiscauses the strut 26 to pivot relative to the detent 20 and causes thedetent to pivot relative to the leg 16 of the table hinge plate 12. Thestrut 26 is dimensioned such that when the leaf 40 is raised to itssubstantially coplanar position with the table 38, the rivet 36 in theleg of the leaf hinge plate is aligned with the concave portion 33 ofthe slot 32. As the spring 22 biases the detent 20 to the position shownin prior art FIG. 2, the strut 26 is also held in a position where it isfree to drop relative to the rivet 36. As the strut drops relative tothe rivet, the rivet engages the concave portion 33 of the slot where itis prevented from sliding through the slot. Raising the leaf 40 may beaccomplished with one hand by lifting the leaf until the strut 26 dropsinto the rivet engaging position shown in prior art FIG. 2. In order tolower the leaf, the strut is pressed upward toward the leaf 40 so thatrivet 36 is again free to slide through the slot 32 in the strut underthe action of gravity. To facilitate lowering of the leaf, the strut isprovided with a finger flange 42.

While my hinge type drop-leaf support 10 shown in prior art FIGS. 1 and2 is a great improvement over the more complex devices often used indrop-leaf tables, I have discovered a more improved hinge type drop-leafsupport which is just as easy to use but which is simpler and lessexpensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a drop-leafsupport having an integral hinge.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a hinge type drop-leafsupport which is inexpensive to manufacture.

It is another object of the invention to provide a hinge type drop-leafsupport which is easy to use.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a hinge typedrop-leaf support which is safe and reliable.

In accord with these objects which will be discussed in detail below,the hinge type drop-leaf support of the present invention includes atable hinge plate, a leaf hinge plate, and a slotted strut. Both thetable hinge plate and the leaf hinge plate are hingedly coupled to eachother and each are provided with respective depending legs. One end ofthe strut is hingedly coupled to table hinge plate leg and the other endof the strut is provided with an L-shaped slot. The leaf hinge plate legis provided with a pin which engages the L-shaped slot. The L-shapedslot and the depending legs are dimensioned so that the use of a detentis obviated. If desired, a coil spring may be provided at the hingedcoupling of the strut and the table hinge plate leg to bias the strut ina downward direction. The L-shaped slot has a long portion and a shortportion which form an angle between them which is preferably acute. Whenthe leaf is raised, the pin on the leaf hinge plate leg moves throughthe long portion of the slot to the short portion of the slot where itis capture and prevented from moving back through the long portion ofthe slot. Moving the strut toward the leaf allows the pin the re-enterthe long portion of the slot thereby allowing the leaf to drop.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentto those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the provided figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of my prior art hinge type drop-leafsupport in the dropped position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of my prior art hinge type drop-leafsupport in the raised position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a hinge type drop-leaf supportaccording to the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of a hinge type drop-leaf supportaccording to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 3 and 4, the hinge type drop-leaf support 50according to the invention includes a table hinge plate 52, a leaf hingeplate 54, and a slotted strut 56. The table hinge plate 52 and the leafhinge plate 54 are hingedly coupled to each other at 58. Both the tablehinge plate 52 and the leaf hinge plate 54 are provided with respectivedepending legs 60, 62. The depending leg 60 on the table hinge plate 52is longer than the depending leg 62 on the leaf hinge plate 54 and isinclined toward the hinge coupling 58. The leaf hinge plate 54 is longerthan the table hinge plate 52 and its depending leg 62 is located at thepoint most distant from the hinge coupling 58.

The strut 56 has a first end 57 and a second end 59 and is provided witha substantially L-shaped slot 64 which extends approximately half wayfrom the first end 57 to the second 59. The slot 64 has a first shortportion 66 and a second long portion 68. The angle between the shortportion and the long portion of the slot is preferably acute. The secondend 59 of the strut 56 is hingedly coupled to the leg 60 of the tablehinge plate 52 by a rivet, screw, pin, or the like 70. A coil spring 72is preferably coupled to the leg 60 and the second end 59 of the strut56 so as to bias the strut downward toward the position shown in FIG. 3.The strut 56 is coupled to the leg 62 of the leaf hinge plate 54 by arivet, screw, pin, or the like 74 which engages the slot 64 in thestrut.

The hinge type drop-leaf support 50 is coupled to a table 80 having aleaf 82 with screws 84 such that the hinge coupling 58 lies along thelower edges of the table 80 and the leaf 82. The support 50 isdimensioned such that when the leaf 82 is in the dropped position whichis substantially perpendicular to the table 80 as shown in FIG. 3, therivet 74 in the leg 62 is substantially at the end of the long portion68 of the slot 64 in the strut 56; and, when the leaf 82 is in theraised position which is substantially coplanar with the table 80 asshown in FIG. 4, the rivet 74 engages the short portion 66 of the slot64.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will appreciate that whenthe leaf 82 is raised, the rivet 74 in the leg 62 of the leaf hingeplate 54 moves freely through the long portion 68 of the slot 64 towardthe short portion 66 of the slot. This causes the strut 56 to pivotabout the rivet 70 relative to the leg 60 of the table hinge plate 52 ina first direction shown by arrow A. When the leaf 82 is raised to itssubstantially coplanar position with the table 80 as shown in FIG. 4,the rivet 74 in the leg of the leaf hinge plate is aligned with theshort portion 66 of the slot 64. As the spring 72 and the action ofgravity bias the strut 56 downward away from the leaf 82, the strutpivots about rivet 70 in a second direction shown by arrow B. Thiscauses the first end 57 of the strut 56 to move downward relative to therivet 74 so that the rivet 74 is captured in the short portion 66 of theslot 64. Since the angle between short portion 66 and the long portion68 of the slot 64 is acute, the rivet 74 is prevented from entering thelong portion 68 of the slot. The leaf is thereby supported by the strutuntil the strut is moved upward toward the leaf. Raising the leaf may beaccomplished with one hand by lifting the leaf until the strut dropsinto the rivet engaging position shown in FIG. 4. In order to lower theleaf 82, the strut 56 is pressed upward toward the leaf so that rivet 74is again free to slide through the long portion 68 of the slot 64 underthe action of gravity. To facilitate lowering of the leaf, the strut isprovided with a finger flange 67.

There has been described and illustrated herein hinge type drop-leafsupport. While particular embodiments of the invention have beendescribed, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto, asit is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as the art willallow and that the specification be read likewise. Thus, whileparticular couplings such as rivets and screws have been disclosed, itwill be appreciated that other types of couplings could be utilized.Also, while the slot in the strut has been shown to have a particularacute angle between its long and short portions, it will be recognizedthat other angles could be used with similar results obtained. Moreover,while the hinge plates have been describe as one being relatively largerthan the other, the hinge plates could be the same size. Furthermore,while the hinge type drop-leaf support has been shown to be attached toa table and leaf with screws, it will be appreciated that otherfastening means could also be used.

It will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that yetother modifications could be made to the provided invention withoutdeviating from its spirit and scope as so claimed.

I claim:
 1. A three-piece hinge type drop-leaf support consistingessentially of:a) a table hinge plate having a first depending leg; b) aleaf hinge plate having a second depending leg and being hingedlycoupled to said table hinge plate; and c) a strut having a first end, asecond end, and a substantially L-shaped slot defined by a short portionand a long portion, said second end being directly hingedly coupled tosaid first depending leg, said second depending leg having slot engagingmeans for coupling said second depending leg to said substantiallyL-shaped slot, wherein when said leaf hinge plate is moved from a firstposition which is substantially perpendicular to said table hinge plateto a second position which is substantially coplanar with said tablehinge plate, said slot engaging means moves through said long portion ofsaid slot to said short portion of said slot, said strut pivots in afirst direction relative to said first depending leg until said slotengaging means reaches said short portion of said slot whereupon saidstrut pivots in a second direction and said slot engaging means iscaptured by said short portion of said slot.
 2. A support according toclaim 1, wherein:said first depending leg is inclined toward said leafhinge plate.
 3. A support according to claim 2, wherein:said longportion of said slot and said short portion of said slot define an anglebetween them and said angle is less than or equal to 90°.
 4. A supportaccording to claim 3, wherein:each of said short portion and said longportion are substantially linear.
 5. A support according to claim 2,wherein:said second depending leg is located on said leaf hinge plate ata point substantially most distant from said table hinge plate.
 6. Athree-piece hinge type drop-leaf support consisting essentially of:a) atable hinge plate having a first depending leg; b) a leaf hinge platehaving a second depending leg and being hingedly coupled to said tablehinge plate; and c) a strut having a first end, a second end, and asubstantially L-shaped slot defined by a short portion and a longportion, said second end being directly hingedly coupled to said firstdepending leg, said second depending leg having slot engaging means forcoupling said second depending leg to said substantially L-shaped slot,and biasing means coupled to said first depending leg and said strut forbiasing said strut away from said leaf hinge plate, wherein when saidleaf hinge plate is moved from a first position which is substantiallyperpendicular to said table hinge plate to a second position which issubstantially coplanar with said table hinge plate, said slot engagingmeans moves through said long portion of said slot to said short portionof said slot, said strut pivots in a first direction relative to saidfirst depending leg until said slot engaging means reaches said shortportion of said slot whereupon said strut pivots in a second directionand said slot engaging means is captured by said short portion of saidslot.
 7. A support according to claim 6, wherein:said biasing means is acoil spring.
 8. A support according to claim 6, wherein:said strut isprovided with a finger flange such that when said leaf hinge plate is insaid second position, pressing said finger flange toward said leaf hingeplate moves said strut in said first direction so that said slotengaging means is free to re-enter said long portion of said slot.
 9. Athree-piece hinge type drop-leaf support consisting essentially of:a) aleaf hinge plate having a first depending leg; b) a table hinge platehaving a second depending leg and being hingedly coupled to said leafhinge plate with said second depending leg being inclined toward saidleaf hinge plate; and c) a strut having a first end, a second end, and asubstantially L-shaped slot defined by a short portion and a longportion, said second end being hingedly coupled to said second dependingleg, said first depending leg having slot engaging means for couplingsaid first depending leg to said substantially L-shaped slot, whereinwhen said leaf hinge plate is moved from a first position which issubstantially perpendicular to said table hinge plate to a secondposition which is substantially coplanar with said table hinge plate,said slot engaging means moves through said long portion of said slot tosaid short portion of said slot, said strut pivots in a first directionrelative to said second depending leg until said slot engaging meansreaches said short portion of said slot whereupon said strut pivots in asecond direction and said slot engaging means is captured by said shortportion of said slot.
 10. A support according to claim 9, wherein:saidlong portion of said slot and said short portion of said slot define anangle between them and said angle is less than or equal to 90°.
 11. Asupport according to claim 10, wherein:said first depending leg islocated on said leaf hinge plate at a point substantially most distantfrom said table hinge plate.
 12. A support according to claim 10,wherein:each of said short portion and said long portion aresubstantially linear.
 13. A three-piece hinge type drop-leaf supportconsisting essentially of:a) a leaf hinge plate having a first dependingleg; b) a table hinge plate having a second depending leg and beinghingedly coupled to said leaf hinge plate with said second depending legbeing inclined toward said leaf hinge plate; and c) a strut having afirst end, a second end, and a substantially L-shaped slot defined by ashort portion and a long portion, said second end being hingedly coupledto said second depending leg, said first depending leg having slotengaging means for coupling said first depending leg to saidsubstantially L-shaped slot, and biasing means coupled to said seconddepending leg and said strut for biasing said strut away from said leafhinge plate, whereby when said leaf hinge plate is moved from a firstposition which is substantially perpendicular to said table hinge plateto a second position which is substantially coplanar with said tablehinge plate, said slot engaging means moves through said long portion ofsaid slot to said short portion of said slot, said strut pivots in afirst direction relative to said second depending leg until said slotengaging means reaches said short portion of said slot whereupon saidstrut pivots in a second direction and said slot engaging means iscaptured by said short portion of said slot.
 14. A support according toclaim 13, wherein:said biasing means is a coil spring.
 15. A supportaccording to claim 13, wherein:said strut is provided with a fingerflange such that when said leaf hinge plate is in said second position,pressing said finger flange toward said leaf hinge plate moves saidstrut in said first direction so that said slot engaging means is freeto re-enter said long portion of said slot.